As we saw earlier, since guys are more likely to accumulate extra pounds around the belly, middle-aged men are at a higher risk of developing heart disease than are premenopausal women. But accord- ing to the American Heart Association, coronary heart disease (CHD) is the single greatest cause of death for women as well as men.
In a study that included almost 90,000 women between the ages of thirty- four and fifty-nine, being overweight or obese was associated with a significantly increased risk of CHD. A gain of even 9 to 22 pounds dur- ing adulthood was associated with a 27 percent increased risk of CHD when compared with women whose weight had remained stable.
In a study that included almost 90,000 women between the ages of thirty- four and fifty-nine, being overweight or obese was associated with a significantly increased risk of CHD. A gain of even 9 to 22 pounds dur- ing adulthood was associated with a 27 percent increased risk of CHD when compared with women whose weight had remained stable.
Once again, studies have found that small weight losses lead to big improvements in cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers estimate that for every kilogram of weight lost—that’s 2.2 pounds—total blood
cholesterol is lowered by 1 percent, LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol)
is lowered by 0.7 percent, and HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) is increased by 0.2 percent.
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